Death Aboard Liberty Of The Seas An Accident, Police Say

The FBI is investigating the death of a woman aboard Royal Caribbean International's Liberty of the Seas. (Source: CBS4)

Royal Caribbean International's Liberty of the Seas (Source: CBS4)

FT. LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – A passenger aboard the Royal Caribbean ship Liberty of the Seas fell to her death early Monday morning, as the ship was just hours away from returning to Port Everglades. Investigators now believe the death was an accident.

47-year-old Barbara Wood of Middleborough, Massachusetts was leaving a nightclub aboard the ship just before 2 a.m. when, according to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, she slipped on the steps and fell down the stairs, hitting her head.

Investigators were told Wood was rushed to the ship’s infirmary, but was pronounced dead an hour later.

The Coast Guard was notified, and investigators from the Broward Sheriff’s Office boarded the ship when it arrived at Port Everglades at6 5 a.m., according to BSO spokesperson Veda Coleman-Wright.

The FBI was notified of the death, because it happened at sea outside of US waters, but BSO detectives and investigators handled the investigation, and have made a preliminary determination that Wood’s death was an accident.